


Baby, it's cold outside

by LunaCanisLupus_22



Category: Scorpion (TV 2014)
Genre: Angsty Schmoop, Angsty because Happy still struggles with this stuff, Camping on rooftops, Canon Compliant, Family Feels, Happy Quinn is precious, Intimacy, One Shot, Romance, Scorpion spoilers, Sleeping Together, Spooning, The tent scene from episode 2x13, Trust Issues, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, and Toby is a hopeful dork, lots of feelings, obscure references to accidental boners
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-06
Updated: 2016-01-06
Packaged: 2018-05-12 02:14:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5649907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaCanisLupus_22/pseuds/LunaCanisLupus_22
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I guess I’ll hit the tent too,” Happy agrees quietly, rising to her feet. “I’m about ready to crash.” Toby stands up so quickly he knocks over the chair in his haste and Happy gives him a dangerous look. </p><p>Super subtle, Doc.</p><p> </p><p>Or the one where Happy and Toby share a tent after the end of episode 2x13's 'White Out' and they <em>cuddle<em>.</em></em></p>
            </blockquote>





	Baby, it's cold outside

**Author's Note:**

> I've been having immense Quintus feels every since I discovered the wonderful show that is Scorpion so this has been a long time coming. And since the latest episode this had to be done (I'm sure plenty of people have already gone ahead and written the tent scene we were all deprived of anyway) but this is my own take on it.
> 
> This is my first fic in this fandom so be gentle with me. I just have a lot of feelings about these two cynical dorks.
> 
> And don't hesitate to tell me what you think! 
> 
> (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

  
  
  
  


The impromptu snowball fight lasts for longer than Sly can handle but Happy sees her family, covered in splashes of snow and flecks from the clean agent, stored-pressure CO2 fire extinguisher in the aftermath of it all and somehow can’t feel bad about it. Considering her trash can shield more than protected her from the attack.  


He re-emerges only once he’s certain they’ve all finished throwing projectiles at one another and by then everyone is seated around the fire in the middle of constructing smores. Sly rushes out to explain the most efficient way to make a perfect smore, structurally designed not to fall apart and Happy agrees with him.  


The chocolate Paige bought isn’t so bad paired with the smores and despite Doc’s earlier complaints, he manages to chow down four of them and Happy does her best to resist rolling her eyes. The warm food is a welcome addition, even if it is of the sugar coated and disgustingly sticky variety, but Happy is too focused on consuming energy to listen to Doc’s long-winded assessment of the potential cavities sugar produces in human teeth. 

Sugar is just a carbohydrate composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen and once Happy breaks it down to its basic building blocks- just like everything else she pulls apart with her capable hands- it’s much easier to understand.  


Even with the buzz from the multiple mugs of coffee she’s drank, Happy is surprised to realise she’s tired. Exhausted even. Nearly freezing to death will do that, but the memory of it seems far off now, sitting under the stars on the garage's rooftop. 

She knows that Doc is aware of it, his eyes constantly sliding toward her throughout the night and normally the idea of someone watching her so diligently would piss her off, but she knows he’s looking at her through his doctor gaze. To be sure that she recovers without any issues. And maybe some of it is to do with offer to share a tent and spoon that she dropped on him earlier.  


His face had gone utterly blank, but Happy knows right now his imagination is running wild at the possibilities. Her skin suddenly feels warmer and it’s a struggle to avoid her gaze from sliding toward the tent.  


The rest of the team didn’t overhear her suggestion and Happy’s not sure what their reactions will be when Toby follows her into the tent. Walter had been against fraternisation within the team and that had worked for her as an excuse mostly, until it didn’t anymore. From the way he and Paige have been acting lately though, Happy doesn’t think he’s committed to his own theory. 

Neither of them are.  


Happy isn't as cold as she's always led herself to think. Denial can only last so long until the truth breaks out. It's as simple as thermodynamics. 

Soon enough it's much later and Paige declares it to be Ralph’s bedtime, which Happy is eternally grateful for because her eyelids feel heavy and she's ready to drop off at the slightest provocation. Her toes still don't quite feel warm enough.  


“Yeah, I guess I’ll hit the tent too,” Happy agrees quietly, rising wearily to her feet. “I’m about ready to crash.”  


Toby stands up so quickly that he knocks over the chair in his haste and Happy gives him a dangerous look. “Me too," he rushes. "Nearly freezing to death will have that effect.”  


Super subtle, Doc. Happy purses her lips together but manages a normal sounding goodnight and heads towards the light green tent on her left, heart beating faster at the sound of Toby's footsteps behind her.  


Happy glances back at them for their reaction, but Cabe is smiling and studiously looking anywhere else as he scratches innocently at his chin, Walter’s face is blank which means he’s thinking deeply about the ramifications of this and Paige’s smile is blinding with encouragement. Not good. Ralph’s back is turned to them, already unzipping his own tent. 

She manages to lift her mouth in some kind of response before turning away again. Is this a terrible idea? Probably, but she nearly died today and Happy can't think straight enough to figure out why it might be the wrong answer. 

Her fingers feel clumsy as she yanks the zipper down and ducks inside, the sounds of low conversation following her. Walter offers to share the white and blue tent with Sly, Paige with Ralph in the dark blue one and Cabe gets the military tent all to himself which he seems pleased about.  


Happy doesn’t speak as she sits down on top of one of the sleeping bags as Toby enters, already untying the laces of her boots and purposely not looking at him. His frame is not suited to squeezing through small spaces and he ends up sprawled clumsily beside her before scooting back to zip up the tent again. Happy rolls her eyes at his back, but her usually steady hands are shaking.  


Slowly, Toby turns back to face her, not moving in any closer but not leaving either. 

The moment feels heavy between them and Happy knows he’s aware of what a huge deal this is and he’s already trying not to screw it up by not saying anything. But it's Toby and he can't stay quiet for long, can't shut up most of the time and he puts his hands together as if he doesn't know what he should be doing with them. 

"So," he starts, evenly in that unthreatening tone of his which normally follows a shrink observation. Happy doesn't want to hear it right now. It’s hard to let people in like this, to be vulnerable around them, but Toby’s seen so much of her already that it’s easier not to be afraid.  


“You gonna sleep in jeans and shoes?” she wonders before he says anything more, pointedly staring at his hands which are resting cautiously against the denim fabric.  


Toby responds by watching her face, analysing the expression there and gauging her emotional markers before he makes a decision. “I can’t really warm you up that way,” he admits, evenly. “I mean, logically it wouldn’t make sense.”  


“Logically,” Happy agrees with a smirk as his face goes blank again. His frozen look is highly gratifying, there's not a lot that can make Toby speechless and it's hard not to feel too smug about the knowledge that this is the second time she's done that tonight. 

While he recovers, Happy twists away to unzip one of the sleeping bags. She listens to the sounds of his shoes coming off before he’s unzipping his fly and wriggling out of his jeans just as she moves over to the other sleeping bag to unfasten it.  


It’s simple to arrange them together, reconnecting them so that it zips up into one big sleeping bag. It's a testament to how often he likes to watch her work that his attention doesn't bother her so much.  


“Good thinking,” Toby murmurs, and he sounds closer than he was before as he starts to remove his jacket.  


“Thanks, Doc,” she replies dryly, moving back so that there’s enough room for her to get out of her pants.  


It’s hard not to feel self-conscious with Toby watching her so closely, but he seems to realise he’s staring and busies himself with climbing into the sleeping bag instead. Happy removes her jacket as well until she’s just in her shirt and boyleg briefs before she climbs in with Toby.  


When she was unconscious and then awake, but barely conscious, there was too much happening to appreciate the simplicity of sharing body warmth. Now it’s all she can focus on, the heat Toby’s already brought into the sleeping bag makes it unbelievably cosy once she’s inside and they’re not really even touching yet. 

Happy's not willing to admit, not even upon pain of death how fantastic it feels after nearly succumbing to hypothermia.  


For a second she just listens to the sounds of their shared breathing before Happy shifts onto her side in one inviting movement. Toby inhales sharply before he’s slotting up against her back, all warmth and comfort and Happy’s breaths feel shorter at the sudden intimacy of it.  


“You don’t have to worry about your arch nemesis any longer,” she mutters into the dark of the tent. “I left his book in Antarctica.”  


Toby’s adjusts to get comfortable, arm sliding gently under her head beneath the pillow while his other hand stays politely out of the confines of the sleeping bag where she can see it. It worries her sometimes how easily he can read her, knows when not to push.  


“He’s not my arch nemesis anymore,” he admits surprisingly, his voice soft and emotional. “He brought me back to you.”  


In the span of a second Happy realises that’s how he found her, throwing Quincy Berkstead’s book angrily out of the crevasse had marked her location from above. It's so ridiculous that she wants to laugh. Happy’s sure that Doc saw the irony in that.  


“When you took off my clothes to conserve body heat, did you look?”  


Her question is light, but her tone warns of impending danger if he comes up with the wrong answer. He better not have been a perv about it. 

But Toby doesn’t even hesitate. “I tried not to, but it’s hard to avoid touching someone when you’re removing their clothing only to preserve their core warmth and save their life.”  


Happy makes a sound in the back of her throat but takes him for his word. She can vaguely remember the panic in his voice and knows there was no time to be anything but perfunctory in those kind of extenuating circumstances. If he had taken advantage though, she would've kicked his ass. 

But even Toby's not that much of a jerk. Not really. 

She knows Toby, he may make half-hearted jokes with an edge of truth to them but he’s never been too aggressive about his feelings, trying to force her into anything she’s uncomfortable with. Happy didn’t think he could be this patient with anything, but in some ways, Toby always ends up surprising her.  


This sort of thing doesn’t come easy to her. 

Happy doesn’t know how to open herself to someone in this way, how to just _be _without closing up again. Right now, she's not like her parents as much as she wishes to be, hopes one day she _can _be. She knows Toby’s not going to push for anything, he’s fine with Happy dictating the terms of how this progresses.____

 _ _ _ _If it does progress. Happy thinks she wants it to progress.  
____

It’s frustrating to want something so badly, but to also be terrified of actually getting it. 

Happy knows she’s a mixture of contradictions, wrapped up in the impenetrable shield of an angry hostile individual who understands how things work better than how people do, but somehow, slowly, she thinks she might be beginning to understand this. Her feelings. And Toby.  


She startles at the press of his nose against her neck, burying into the curls of her hair and she knows he’s not trying anything suspect, just pressing closer and inhaling. Sometimes it's good to be like this, in each other's space, breathing it all in. 

Slowly, since Happy’s not even sure what she’s planning to do, she daringly reaches outside of warmth of the sleeping bag, finding Toby’s hand and placing her palm atop of his, sliding her fingers experimentally between the spaces of his own, interlocking them.  


“Happy,” Toby murmurs, and his voice sounds different than what she’s used to when she draws their hands back beneath the sleeping bag.  


“Yeah, Doc?” she asks, bringing their hands up against her breastbone so that Toby’s arm is tucked across her waist, surrounding her.  


“Don’t be mad if I get too excited.”  


Happy inhales her frustration. Trust Doc to ruin a moment.  


“What? It’s a perfectly natural biological function,” Toby protests, but he manages to keep himself under control so Happy doesn’t have to punch him.  


“Just keep your perfectly natural biological function to yourself and I won’t have to hurt you.”  


Happy can almost see the smile in Toby's voice as he replies. “Done and done.”  


Yeah, like Happy is gonna believe that. 

She makes a doubtful sound, but doesn’t argue. Her heartbeat has settled down now, the comforting warmth of Toby against her and their combined fatigue encouraging sleep. The knowledge is startling. 

Happy wasn’t sure that she could relax enough to fall asleep like this, pressed so tightly against someone when she's the type that thrives on her own personal space. Who does things on her own, is used to being alone because she's been alone most of her life.  


But somehow it works. Happy doesn’t really know why. Toby just fits somehow and here right now, he doesn’t seem out of place with his arms around her.  


“G’night, Doc,” she murmurs around a yawn, the fog of unconsciousness slowly settling over her.  


Toby’s hand is warm between hers and Happy thinks if she wasn’t already half asleep that she’d like to kiss him again.  


Then Toby’s mouth is at her ear, soft and reassuring, but familiar because it’s just Toby and she _knows _him, trusts him. He’s known her when she’s vulnerable and for the most part, he hasn’t let her down. He's one of her best friends and she doesn't want to lose that, even if she knows she wants more. They both do.__

“Goodnight Happy,” he whispers, and the immeasurably hopeful lilt of his voice flutters through her like a promise. Yeah, she's definitely gonna kiss him again. If, for the very least, to see his expression afterwards. For a genius, he gets pretty stupid after a kiss.  


For now Happy allows herself to drift, Toby’s breath evening out beside her, surrounded by friends, her family as she slowly unwinds and slips into sleep, enveloped in his warm arms.

  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
